Simo Puntanen
University of Tampere, Finland
Jerey Joseph Hunter was born 75 years ago, 27March 1941; Otahuhu, in a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. His father was a local businessman (Hunter's Radio Ltd) and Je was given the opportunity to be educated at King's College over the years 195458. According to Wikipedia, Otahuhu was home to the country's rst supermarket, and King's College is one of the largest boarding schools in New Zealand, being originally a boys-only school but now also admits girls in the sixth and seventh forms (years12and13).
I rst met Je in May 1985 in Auckland, and by then, Je was pretty fully-educated and after all the wild years was enjoying regular family life with his wife Hazel and children Michelle and Mark. The key to my rst visit to New Zealand was my collaborator George P. H. Styan who was spending his sabbatical 198485 in Auckland. The University of Auckland organized the First Pacic Statistical Congress, 2024 May 1985, Proceedings published in 1986. The Photograph 2 is taken at the reception of this conference. One evening during the conference time, Hazel and Je organized a cozy dinner party at their home in St Heliers, see Photograph 1. I still remember how heavy the rain (153 mm in one 24-hour interval) was that evening when it rains in New Zealand it really rains.
The month of May 1985 was a starting point for my long-lasting delightful co-operation with the Kiwi friends: how could I have imagined that25years later on 20th of May 2010, my wife Soile and I would arrive at 6:55 am by AY51 at the Beijing Capital Airport and meet 20 Kiwis arriving from Auckland at 7:20 am by NZ87 and then hit the road for two weeks in China under the excellent leadership of Je! To Soile and me it all nicely resulted Honorary Citizenships of New Zealand.
Let me add one memorable thing: upon our arrival at Beijing, we had to kill some time before we could accommodate our exhausted bodies to our hotel and for that exercise Je had arranged us a visit to the Temple of Heaven.
Believe me, it was a hot day. In the same scale hot as the lecture room in Ljubljana's International Workshops on Matrices and Statistics (IWMS) in June 2014 and the weather in Hainan Island in May 2015 if you know what I mean . . . and I'm not joking.
Returning back to George I would like to cite Je (2012) who in his article entitled George P. H. Styan. A celebration of 75 years: A personal tribute described his history with George as follows:
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Photo 1. Margaret Scott, Ross Leadbetter, and Je at Château Hunter, St Heliers, Auckland, May 1985.
Photo 2. Je discussing with Ivor S. Francis; George P. H. Styan evaluating the wine, Chris Triggs pouring the wine, Terry Speed in the horizon; Auckland, May 1985.
My association with George goes back to 1973 when I attended an Institute of Mathematical Statistics meeting at Ithaca College to hear George talk on some research on Markov chains that included refer-ence to generalized inverses. This was of much interest to me as I had published a paper in 1969 identifying Kemeny and Snell's fundamen-tal matrix of Markov chains as a generalized inverse. Starting from that meeting our subsequent association has spanned the globe
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Photo 3. St Heliers again, 17 April 2005. Clockwise: Hazel, Jarkko Isotalo (hardly visible), Alastair Scott, Soile P., Je, George P. H. Styan, Margaret Scott.
with George visiting the University of Auckland over the period July 1984 to June 1985 on a sabbatical leave to spend time primarily with George Seber and Alastair Scott. At that time I was a member of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Auckland. I followed up his visit with me visiting McGill University for a month in May 1988 and again visiting McGill in June 2001 (when I was based at Massey University). Both of these latter visits occurred while I was on a sabbatical leave. George tried to discourage me from pursuing any further activity on generalised inverses but not all was known about their properties when associated with Markov chains so that I failed to take his advice!
While we are now in old good times, let's go back a bit further. Ingram Olkin, the famous Stanford Professor, was coming, as a Keynote Speaker, to the IWMS meeting in Ljubljana, June 2014. While communicating with Ingram, Je was refreshing his memories from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where also Ingram had completed his dissertation (in 1951). Je cc'ed his email to me on 17 April 2014, and (with his kind permission) I copy some interesting reminiscences here:
[writing to Ingram Olkin: . . . ] I did enjoy reading your comments about the North Carolina statisticians as I also received my PhD from UNC-Chapel Hill. I remember Hotelling (and in fact was given his personal copies of the Kendall and Stuart volumes at the time of his death when I was revisiting UNC in 1973 on a sabbatical leave). I also remember Alfred Brauer he was a quiet charming man. R. C.
Bose was still in the Department I was at Chapel Hill 1964-68 and I have a copy of the mimeographed notes that Bose prepared (they were used by Indra Chakravarti) where he introduced `conditional
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Photo 4. Excursion to Waiheke Island, Auckland, 30 March 2005.
Photo 5. Je and C. R. Rao; Auck-land, 31 March 2005. (Eugene Seneta with a camera.) Ph: Harold V. Hender-son.
Photo 6. Bhargavi and C. R. Rao, George P. H. Styan, Hans Joachim Werner, Shayle R. Searle; Auckland, 1 April 2005.Ph: Jerey J. Hunter.
inverses' in solving systems of linear equations before considering lin-ear estimation with xed eects and tests of linlin-ear hypotheses. It was in the course on `Analysis of Variance with Applications to Exper-imental Design'. I also had a course from Wassily Hoeding and I learnt my Statistical Theory in two demanding courses from Norman Lloyd Johnson. It was a great Department to study and work in. Af-ter my degree I stayed on for nine months as a Research Associate
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Photo 7. Je celebrating the winning of the beer tasting competition in the IWMS, Dortmund, July 2003.
Photo 8. Je enjoying lobsters, con-ference banquet, SSC Meeting in St.
John's, Newfoundland, Canada, June 2007.
and started applying my knowledge on what was then called `gener-alised inverses' to problems in Markov chained and Markov renewal processes. I am still using those techniques today!
As I mentioned earlier, in May 1985 I was hosted at the Château Hunter in St Heliers by Je and Hazel, but it's fair to mention that 20 years later, 17 April 2005, the same happened around the Auckland's IWMS meeting. Then I was happy not only to have Soile with me but also my PhD student Jarkko Isotalo.
I still wonder if Je ever realized my utmost (though hopeless) eagerness to get the light ashing between Michelle and Jarkko: what a wonderful excuse to visit New Zealand (to check Jarkko's research progress) if something everlasting would have started . . .
Je is an NBL, a natural-born-leader. I have had a pleasure to experience this not only when touring with him, for example, in China and South India, but also following closely his chairing the organizing committees of the IWMS in
• Auckland, 29 March1 April 2005, www, Report in Image (2005),
• Shanghai, 58 June 2010, www, Report in Image (2010),
• Haikou City, Hainan Island, China, 2528 May 2015, www, Souvenir Booklet (2015c), Report in Image (2015b),
and being an active member of the organizing committees of several other IWMSs, like the second IWMS held 45 December 1992 in Auckland, It was following Je's visit with George P. H. Styan in Montreal in 2001 that he was persuaded to chair the Local Organizing Committee of the 14th IWMS
S. Puntanen 105 in Auckland in spring 2005. Je was able to get Professor C. Radhakrishna Rao to New Zealand not only as a Keynote Speaker and the Nokia Lecturer for the IWMS but also as a New Zealand Statistical Association Visiting Lecturer. As a result Professor Rao was touring and performing, like the Rolling Stones, in six universities throughout New Zealand in 1423 March.
Photo 9. Conference banquet: Shenfang Zheng, Hazel, Je, Guiqing Wang; IWMS-Shanghai, 6 June 2010.
Photo 10. Hans Joachim Werner, Kai-Tai Fang, Yonghui Liu, Je, Shenfang Zheng, SP, Tingmui Li; IWMS-Shanghai, 6 June
2010. Photo: Soile P.
106 S. Puntanen The 22nd IWMS was held in Toronto, at the Fields Institute for Mathe-matical Research, 1215 August 2013. The highlight of the event was the Memorial Session and Reception to Honor Shayle Robert Searle (19282013) with speakers: David A. Harville, Jerey J. Hunter, Jon N.K. Rao, Robert Rodriguez, Susan Searle, and Heather Selvaggio. The participants in partic-ular appreciated the wonderful personal reminiscences of Susan Searle and Heather Selvaggio, the two daughters of Shayle Searle. This Special Session was arranged and chaired by Je as well as summarised by him in the Aus-tralian & New Zealand Journal of Statistics (2015a): Shayle was Je's close personal friend, having met rst time in 1968 they had a long-standing associ-ation over the years both in New Zealand and in Ithaca (Cornell University).
Shayle also attended several IWMS meetings. In Tampere, in August 1999, we had a banquet in the Viikinsaari Island and part of the pre-dinner pro-gram was a penalty kick competition. When it was Shayle's turn, he took his walking stick, put it upside down and hit the ball. I was the referee and of course, I accepted the goal with pleasure. Before leaving Shayle Searle, let me mention that the session in which I gave my talk in the First Pacic Statistical Congress, 2024 May 1985, was chaired by Shayle. He was not a sleepy chair and did not give any extra minutes.
Photo 11. Speakers at the Memorial Session in Honour of Shayle R. Searle, Fields Institute, Toronto, 14 August 2013. Jerey J.
Hunter, Robert Rodriguez, Susan Searle (daughter, South Car-olina), David A. Harville, Heather Selvaggio (daughter, Florida),
Jon N. K. Rao. Ph: Joanna Modlawska.
On 2528 May 2015 we had our IWMS meeting in Haikou, in Hainan Island, in South China. Je was the Chair of the International Organizing Committee and I can tell you (because I happen to know) that Je did an awful lot of work for the meeting! The success of the event was no doubt very much
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Photo 12. George Styan, Evelyn Styan, Hazel, Je, Mrs An-drews, Eileen Wild, David F. AnAn-drews, Chris Wild, Soile P., Hans Joachim Werner, Magdala Werner; Annual Meeting of the Statis-tical Society of Canada (SSC), St. John's, Newfoundland, June 2007.
due to Je's devotion and tireless eorts. So impressive to follow closely his determined actions believe me!
In addition to his impressive list of academic administrative tasks, Je is the author of numerous refereed articles in top-journals, author of books, edi-tor of special issues of journals, and a teacher of statistics, probability and operations research. Je's research has been in applied probability, focusing on Markov and semi-Markov processes, generalized matrix inverses, queue-ing theory and two-dimensional renewal theory. He was the President of the New Zealand Statistical Association during 199597 (eventually serving on its Executive for13years, gaining honorary lifetime membership). All in all, he's a thoroughly experienced University Professor, familiar with all spices the academic life can oer.
In 2007 George P. H. Styan and Götz Trenkler interestingly and colourfully characterized Je's research topics in their paper A philatelic excursion with Je Hunter in probability and matrix theory in the Special Issue of the Journal of Applied Mathematics and Decision Sciences. Here is their abstract:
We present an excursion with Je Hunter, visiting some of his re-search topics. Specically, we will present some facts about certain people whose work seems to have inuenced Je in his scientic ca-reer; we illustrate our presentation with postage stamps that have been issued in honour of these people. Our main guide is Hunter's two-volume book (1983a; 1983b) entitled Mathematical Techniques of Applied Probability (Academic Press).
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Photo 13. Hazel and Je in the night of Shanghai, 24 May 2010.
Photo 14. Enjoying the IWMS ban-quet, Shanghai, 6 June 2010.
In April 2005, Je graduated with his Doctor of Science degree in Applied Probability from Massey University; his thesis (2005b) was a compilation of his research papers spanning his career. In 2006 Je received the Campbell Award, the highest award of the New Zealand Statistical Association, to recognise his contributions to statistical research and education, and his services to the pro-fession of Statistics. In 2007 Je was ap-pointed Professor Emeritus of Statistics, at Massey University. Since then he's been working at the Auckland Univer-sity of Technology, School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, where he is now currently Head of Research in the Department of Mathematical Sciences, having been Head of Mathemat-ical Sciences, in the School of Computer and MathematMathemat-ical Sciences, now a separate department in the renamed School of Engineering, Computer &
Mathematical Sciences.
But what happened before?
Did I already mention what a wonderful swimmer Je has been (no doubt still is)? Well, I skip this for the time being and jump directly to the years of 1960s.
After receiving his Master's degree, with First Class Honours in Mathematics at the University of Auckland in 1963, Je stayed the years 196468 in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA, receiving his Ph.D. in
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Photo 15. Je running a guided
tour, Xian, China, May 2010. Photo 16. Seating order in the IWMS ban-quet, Shanghai, 6 June 2010.
Statistics in June 1968, with the thesis On the Renewal Density Matrix of a Semi-Markov Process (adviser Walter L. Smith). In 196990, Je worked at the University of Auckland, and in 19902007 at the Massey University, working at the Institute of Information and Mathematical Sciences (IIMS), Albany Campus, in 19982007.
It is interesting to cite here the Newsletter of the IIMS (2005b) where Je describes his research philosophy as follows:
Over the years I have kept a notebook sectionalized into various topics with a list of key papers that referred to that problem. This went with me wherever I went! In many instances as the result of my reading (and thinking!) new ideas started to emerge. This was the precursor to the next stage in my `research process'. This entailed putting the background material away and putting my own ideas to paper. Stored in one's brain are concepts and approaches that others have taken but the important next stage is to really esh out your own approach. Nothing is better that putting pen (or pencil!) to paper in a quiet environment and seeing what evolves! You are often surprised and once you have the problem `tiger by its tail' it is dicult to put it aside. It often preoccupies your thoughts for many a day the thought process is often ongoing and the urge to continue grappling with the problem insatiable. Your partner often detects that you appear to be in a trance and non-communicative. The pleasure at solving the problem is however very satisfying.
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Photo 17. Hazel and Je in Skokloster Castle, Sweden, June 2006.
Je and Hazel are great travellers. However, as I now understand the situation (writing this in March 2016), Hazel unfortunately may not make it this time (June 2016) to Madeira. Anyways, I'm convinced that we'll have many opportunities to meet in the fu-ture, take care, Hazel!
I wish you all the very best for the many years to come, Je!
Acknowledgements
Thanks go to Jerey J. Hunter and Kimmo Vehkalahti for helpful comments, and for the photographs 5, 6, 11, and 20 to Harold V.
Henderson, Jerey J. Hunter, Joanna Mod-lawska, and Yonghui Liu. respectively; the other photos, except#28, are taken by SP.
Part of this article appeared in the Birthday Recognition Book of the Probastat Conference, Smolenice Castle, Slovakia, 4 8 July 2011, when celebrating Jerey J. Hunter's 70th birthday.
References
[1] Francis, I. S., Manly, B. F. J., and Lam, F. C. (Eds.) (1986). Proceedings of the Pacic Statistical Congress1985, Auckland, New Zealand, 2024 May 1985.
North-Holland, Amsterdam.
[2] Hunter, Jerey J. (1968). On the Renewal Density Matrix of a Semi-Markov Process. PhD Thesis (105 pages). Department of Statistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA.
[3] Hunter, Jerey J. (1969). On the moments of Markov renewal processes. Ad-vances in Applied Probability, 1, 188210.
[4] Hunter, Jerey J. (1983a). Mathematical Techniques of Applied Probability, Vol-ume 1, Discrete Time Models: Basic Theory. Pp. xiii + 239, ISBN 0-12-361801-0.
[5] Hunter, Jerey J. (1983b). Mathematical Techniques of Applied Probability, Vol-ume 2, Discrete Time Models: Techniques and Applications. Pp. xiii + 286, ISBN 0-12-361802-9.
[6] Hunter, Jerey J. (2005a). Research news and views. Newsletter of the Insti-tute of Information and Mathematical Sciences, Massey University, (January February 2005), pages 89.
[7] Hunter, Jerey J. (2005b). Contributions to Applied Probability. DSc thesis, Massey University, New Zealand.
[8] Hunter, Jerey J. (2012). George P. H. StyanA celebration of 75 years: A personal tribute. In Abstract Book of LINSTAT-2012 & IWMS-2012, (Bedlewo, Poland, 1620 July 2012). Edited by Katarzyna Filipiak and Martin Singull.
ISBN: 978-83-63400-12-5. Conference website. Pages 227233.
S. Puntanen 111 [9] Hunter, Jerey J. (2015a). Shayle R. Searle: Pioneer in linear modelling.
Aus-tralian & New Zealand Journal of Statistics, 57, 114. Download.
[10] Hunter, Jerey J. (2015b). Report on the 24th International Workshop on Matrices and Statistics, Haikou, China, 2528 May 2015. Image, 55 (Fall 2015), 1819. Download.
[11] Hunter, Jerey J. (Ed.) (2015c). Souvenir Booklet of the 24th International Workshop on Matrices and Statistics, Haikou, China, 2528 May 2015. Down-load.
[12] Hunter, Jerey J. and Liu, Yonghui (2010). Report on the 14th International Workshop on Matrices and Statistics Shanghai, China, 58 June 2010. Image, 45 (Fall 2010), 67. Download.
[13] Hunter, Jerey J. and Styan, George P. H. (2005). Report on the 19th In-ternational Workshop on Matrices and Statistics, Auckland, New Zealand, 29 March1 April 2005. Image, 34 (Fall 2005), 1617. Download.
[14] Styan, George P. H. and Trenkler, Götz (2007). A philatelic excursion with Je Hunter in probability and matrix theory. Journal of Applied Mathematics and Decision Sciences. (Special Issue in honour of Professor Jerey J. Hunter).
Article ID 13747. Download.
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